Lock box



March 4 1924; 4 19185387 G. M. GOLDSMITH ET AL LOCK BOX e y 25. 192i aw- I? Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

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GUSTAVE M. GOLDSMITH AND CARL I. BARTELS, OF Hr kfliiilll "ON, OHIO, ASSIGN'ORS TO THE MOSLER SAFE COMPANY/OF HAMILTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

I LOCK BOX.

Application filed May 25, 1921. Serial No. 472,501.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GUsTAvn M. GoLn- SMITH and CARL'P. BARTELS, citizens of the United States, residing at Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lock Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to lockboxes and in particular relates to means for preventing access being had to the interior of a lock-box or to the contents of a drawer therein except by the regular operation of the lock mechanism. Our invention is especially well suited for application to safetydeposit boxes.

Safety-deposit lock-boxes now almost universally in use are so arranged that access to the interior of the box may be obtained by hammering inwardly on the key-tubes until, the threads of the bolts holding the lock in position on the door are stripped. This movement of the lock inwardly of the door is permitted by reason of a space being present between the rear of the lock and front of the drawer of the box, and the front face of the drawer is, usually oftin so that even of the rear of the lock should strike against it acrossthe, space, the tin face of the drawer would give way and the lock could still be easily forced inward against the slight resistancefoifered by this sheet of tin. In these lock-boxes, when the lock is loosened from the door sufficiently to remove the bolt from it socket, the door is freed and may be readily opened, thus giving access to the] interior of the box. These'lock-boxes may also be entered by forcing aside that side of the outer casing of the box which carries the socket for the bolt, until thebolt socket is forced aside sufiiciently to unmask the bolt and thus permit the door to be opened.

One. of the objects of our invention to provide a lock-box so constructed that access to the interior thereof may not be'obtained by unauthorized persons. Another object of our invention is to provide a lockbox of simple and inexpensive construction and provided with locking means permitting of easy operation by a person having the proper key or acquainted with the combina= tion, and, at the same time, providing means whereby the tamperingin other ways with the lock on other parts of the box will not forming the .outer face of a drawer.

cured in closed position irrespective of the engagement of the bolt in its main socket,

and further comprises the provision of means adapted to abut against the rear of the lock to prevent itsbeing stripped from ts mounting to therebyfree the bolt from its socket. Obviously, our invention may be applied to lock-boxes of many types and I I adapted to many uses.

In accordance with our invention we pro? vide a lock-box of ordinary construction except that the rear face of thelock is adapted to abut or to come into close proximity to the outer face of a member having considerable rigidity and resistance and held against inward movement in the box, and such member may comprise a steel plate This construction will prevent the look from being pounded inwardly of the door soas to be stripped therefrom. To obtain further resistance to" inward movement of the lock we extend the abutment plate, when carried on or comprising the outer face of the drawer, or when mounted independently, to provide flanges, and securely fasten 'on each side wall of the box a piece of metal providing a rigid portion or shoulder, against which the flanges at the sides of'the plate are adapted to abut. These rigid portions secured to the sides of the box will'aid in preventing "inward movement of the rigid member which abuts against theback' of the look and thereby p'revent'the' stripping of the lock from the door. To'prevent the opening of the door of the box 'when the side of the box containing the socketfor the bolt hasbeen wedged 'aside "sufiiciently to free the bolt from this s'ocket,-we securely fasten to a portion of the drawer, and preferably to the memberwhich formsthe front of the drawer, a'keeper-having a perforation.

adapted to register with the socket in. the side of the box, so that the belt of the lock will penetrate this keeper carried on the front of the drawer, and will enter the socket in the side of the box beyond. By this means, we prevent the opening of the door even when the socket in the side of the box has been forced aside sufficiently to uncover the bolt, since the bolt will still engage the keeper carried on the front of the drawer.

In order that a clearer understanding of our invention may be had attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings illustrating one possible embodiment of our invention. Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a safety-deposit lock-box such as may embody our invention Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a lock-box em bodying our invention taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of a lock-box embodying our invention; Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a lock box embodying our invention taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawin s, we provide a lock-box which may have its outer walls, door and lock thereon constructed in the usual manner, and preferably of steel or similar material. In the drawings, the top wall is shown at 1, the bottom wall at 2, the side walls at 3 and 1 respectively, the door at 5, hinged in the usual manner, as at 6, to one side 3 of the box, and the lock is shown at 7, secured to the rear of the door 5 as by means of bolts 8, which are countersunk into the rear surface 9 of the lock so that their heads will be flush with or below this surface. Key-tubes 10, of the lock extend through suitable perforations in the door 5. The main socket for the bolt is shown at 11, formed in a jamb or plate 12 which is welded or otherwise secured to the inside of side at of the box. The drawer for the box may be constructed of tin in the usual man ner, except that instead of having the front face of tin we substitute a plate 13, comprising rigid and resistantmaterial such as steel, or the like. Plate 13, as shown, may be secured to the side walls 14 and 15 and to the bottom 16 of the drawer by being spotwelded or otherwise secured thereto, as at 17 As clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 1 of the drawings, when the drawer is seated within the box and the door 5 is closed, the rear surface 9 of the lock abuts against the front surface of the plate 13 and thereby will, in consequence, offer resistance to further inward movement of the lock, and will provide an abutment for the lock to prevent it from being stripped fromthe door 5 as a result of pounding or pressure applied against the key-tubes 10. As shown, the plate 13 extends beyond each of the sides 14 and 15 of the drawer to form flanges 18 and 19 respectively. We firmly secure to the inside of the wall 3 of the box a plate 20 having a rigid portion or shoulder 21 adapted to engage flange 18 of member 13 from the rear, and we mount a similar piece 22 interiorly of wall 1 of the box providing a similar shoulder or abutment 23 adapted to abut against the rear or flanged portion 19 of member 13, thus providing means in addition to the sides 1% and 15 of the drawer, which abut against the rear of the box; for holding plate 13 against the rear surface 9 of the lock and for preventing the stripping of the look from the door in consequence of pounding or pressure applied to the key-tubes 10.

In order to prevent access from being gained to the interior of the box after the side a has been forced outwardly sutficiently to free the bolt 24, of the lock from the main socket 11, we firmly secure to plate 13 a plate 26 extending outwardly at right angles thereto and perforated as at 25, to provide socket 25 adapted to register with socket 11 when the drawer is seated in thebox, so that when the bolt 24: is shot it will pass through the socket 25 of member 26 and will enter socket 11. Plate 26 may be formed integrally on plate 13, or may be welded, or bolted, or otherwise suitably secured there to. It is readily seen that if the side 1 and member 12 are displaced sidewise sufficiently to free bolt 24 from its socket 11, the bolt will nevertheless remain seated within the socket 25 of member 26 and the door 5 may neither be opened nor may access be had to the interior of the drawer. The door 5 being hinged, when it is opened the bolt 24 will be moved in a circular path and because the plate 13 may not follow such movement of the bolt, the opening of the door will be prevented so long as the bolt 24 engages within the socket 25. Any suitable means may be supplied to render it convenient and easy to slide the drawer out of the open box. As shown, such means may comprise a ring 27 pivotally mounted on the front of plate 13 and countersunk beneath or flush with its outer surface so as not to interfere with the close abutment of the back of the lock against the front of plate 13. This ring is tained in the above description orshown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What we claim is:

1. In a lock box, the combination with a door having a lock on the rear side thereof, and a drawer in said box, said drawer having longitudinal walls, of a plate rigidly mounted on said drawer across the front thereof and positioned to lie directly back of the look when the door is closed, and said longitudinal drawer walls abutting said plate from the rear, whereby movement of said plate rearwardly of said drawer is limited, and cooperating with said plate whereby inward movement of said lock from said door is prevented when the door is closed.

2. In a lock box having a rear wall, the combination with a door and a lock secured on the rear side thereof, of a drawer having for its front face a rigid plate positioned to lie against the rear of said look when said door is closed, and having sides and a bottom abutting both said rear wall and said. plate, whereby inward movement of said lock from said door is prevented when said door is closed.

3. In a lock box, the combination with a door and a lock secured on the rear side thereof, of a drawer having for its front face a rigid plate positioned to lie against the rear of said look when said door is closed, said plate having portions extending outwardly of the drawer proper, and abutments secured to the box and positioned to be directly behind said extended plate portions when the drawer is closed, whereby inward .vented when said door is closed.

4:. In a lock box, the combination with a drawer, a door and a lock on said door having a movable bolt, of a main socket for said bolt, and an auxiliary bolt socket carried by said drawer.

5. In a lock box, the combination with a door and locking means including a bolt mounted on said door, of a socket for said bolt on one side of said box, a drawer in said box and an auxiliary socket for said bolt mounted on said drawer and adapted to register with said first socket and permitting said bolt to extend through said auxiliary socket and into said first mentioned socket.

6. In a lock box, the combination with a door, a lock mounted on the inner side thereof, said lock including a sliding bolt and a socket for said bolt on one side of said box,

of a drawer, the front face of which comprises a rigid plate having a forwardly projecting portion constituting an auxiliary bolt socket, said drawer face being adapted to lie directly behind said lock to prevent inward movement of said look when said door is in closed position, with said auxiliary socket in alignment with said first mentioned socket for engagement by said bolt to prevent the opening of said door.

This specification signed and witnessed this 21st day of May, 1921.

GUSTAVE M. GOLDSMITH. CARL P. BARTELS. Witnesses:

H. E. SALSMAN, H. REIEF. 

